1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, generally, to a vehicle cargo bed extender, and more specifically, to a bed extender that is adapted to pivot between a deployed position over a down tailgate and a stowed position forward of the tailgate and having a pin lock assembly adapted to selectively lock the bed extender in either the deployed or the stowed position.
2. Description of the Related Art
Pickup trucks are well known vehicles having rear cargo areas that are employed for utilitarian purposes. A representative example of this type of vehicle is generally indicated at 20 in FIG. 1. As is well known in the art, pickup trucks typically include a cab 22 in which the vehicle operator sits and a cargo area, generally indicated at 24. The cargo area 24 is typically disposed adjacent and to the rear of the cab 22. The cargo area 24 is typically defined by a bed 26 and pair of upstanding sidewalls 28 spaced from one another on either side of the bed 26. In addition, the vehicle 20 typically includes a rear wall or “tailgate” 30 that extends between the pair of sidewalls 28 at one end of the bed 26 and a front wall 32 located at the other end of the bed 26 opposite to the tailgate 30. The rear wall or tailgate 30 is usually hingedly mounted to the bed 26 so as to be rotatable between an upright position (FIG. 1) and an extended position as shown in FIG. 2. When it is in its extended position, the tailgate 30 is said to be “down” or “open” and is usually disposed substantially co-planar with the bed 26 of the vehicle cargo area 24. When it is disposed in its upright position, the tailgate 30 extends substantially perpendicularly between the pair of sidewalls 28. In this disposition, together the sidewalls 28, the tailgate 30 and front wall 32 define a perimeter of the vehicle cargo area 24.
Numerous accessories have been developed for the purpose of augmenting the utilitarian functions of the cargo area 24 in such vehicles. For example, toolboxes and other, similar storage devices have been employed to provide a secure enclosure for storing tools and other valuable implements in the otherwise open cargo area 24 of vehicles, such as pickup trucks 20. Such toolboxes and the like are typically mounted between the sidewalls 28 and the front wall 32 proximate to the cab 22 of the vehicle 20. While such toolboxes adequately function for their intended purposes, they also act to reduce the remaining available cargo area 24 of the vehicle 20.
Another common accessory employed in connection with the cargo area of a vehicle such as a pickup truck is known as a “Tonneau Cover”. Tonneau covers known in the related art are often constructed of canvas, wood, or metal panels and extend between the upper margins of the sidewalls 28 from the front wall 32 generally to the tailgate 30. Tonneau covers serve to enclose the cargo area 24 thereby providing a modicum of protection for tools and other cargo. Tonneau covers also act to reduce the aerodynamic drag caused by fully uncovered cargo areas. Partial tonneau covers are also known that extend from the front wall 32 but that do not continue the entire distance to the tailgate. These partial covers offer some aerodynamic benefits and also allow easier access to the rearmost portion of the cargo area and tailgate.
Another vehicle accessory that has gained popularity in recent years is generally known as a “Truck Bed Extender”. Truck bed extenders known in the related art are usually employed with the tailgate 30 “down” or in the extended position as shown in FIG. 2. The bed extender is mounted to the sidewalls 28 and is supported by the tailgate 30. In this way, truck bed extenders known in the related art serve to increase the effective length of the bed 26 of the pickup truck 20.
Numerous variations on the truck bed extender theme currently exist in the related art. For example, bed extenders are currently in use that are constructed of tubular steel, or aluminum to enclose the area above the tailgate 30 when it is down. Alternatively, several styles of enclosed boxes that stow in the truck bed when not in use and that operatively move out over the tailgate to extend the bed area have been produced. Some of these are structurally robust enough to extend out beyond the end of the tailgate. Still other bed extenders are known in the related art that include a series of light-weight panels that are designed to be foldable when not in use or when the tailgate 30 is disposed in its upright position.
While such bed extenders known in the related art have generally worked for their intended purposes, disadvantages still remain regarding their use for certain vehicle applications. For example, in response to customer demands for multi-featured vehicles and vehicles with accessory equipment that can fulfill different roles, manufacturers are attempting to provide specialized bed extenders to vehicles that have rear cargo areas. More specifically, along with traditional pick-up truck type vehicles (FIG. 1), manufacturers are also now producing multi-purpose vehicles that combine some of the features of traditional pick-up trucks with some of the features of the common forms of sport-utility vehicles (SUVs). These vehicles are generally referred to as SUV/Pickup crossovers. As shown in FIG. 3, a typical example of one these crossover style vehicles is generally indicated at 40.
The crossover vehicle 40 provides the four-place cabin of an SUV and a foreshortened rear bed of a pickup as a cargo area. Similar to the pickup truck of FIG. 1, the crossover vehicle 40 in FIG. 3 also has a cargo area 24 that is defined by a bed 26 and pair of upstanding sidewalls 28 spaced from one another. A tailgate 30 extends between the pair of sidewalls 28 at the rear end of the bed 26 and a front wall 32 is located at the other end of the bed 26 opposite to the tailgate 30. Due to the reduced carrying capacity of the shorter rear bed 26 compared to traditional pickups (FIG. 1), and to add to their multi-function role, it is desirous to provide these vehicles with bed extenders. However, the shorted rear bed 26 of the crossover vehicle 40 makes the use of conventional truck bed extenders highly problematic. This is due to the fact that a crossover vehicle 40 most often employs some type of bed accessory, such as a tool box 34 or tonneau cover 36 discussed above, which interferes with the proper deployment of a conventional bed extender.
In addition to the problem of fitting a conventional bed extender in crossover vehicles such as these, it is a particular design and selling feature to provide the vehicle user with the ability to make quick changes from one manner, or mode of use of the vehicle to another. Thus, it is a design intent of the crossover vehicle to provide the user the ability to open the tailgate, quickly place the bed extender, and be ready to use it immediately. To rapidly accomplish the vehicle changeover to the extended bed mode of operation, it is desirable to employ a pivoting bed extender.
In this manner, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the specialized bed extender is pivotably mounted to the bed sidewalls 28 of the crossover vehicle so that it may lay stowed in the bed, then when desired, be quickly pivoted 180 degrees out over the down tailgate 30 for use. In addition to having a simple pivot point, the specialized bed extender may also incorporate additional structure that allows the extender to move rectilinearly with respect to the vehicle sidewalls to provide adequate clearance as it is moved between its stowed and deployed positions.
Given the consumer demand for multi-purpose vehicle accessories, as mentioned above, it should be appreciated that it is also desirous to employ a bed extender with a similar pivotal installation in traditional pick-up truck cargo areas as well (FIGS. 1 and 2). While a pivoting bed extender provides improvements that overcome the drawbacks of conventional extenders, their use presents another problem. Due to the ease of movement of a pivoting bed extender between its stowed and deployed positions, it has been found that additional retaining devices are required to secure the extender and avoid displacement and uncommanded movement of the bed extender while the vehicle is in use.
Since conventional non-pivoting bed extenders are generally fixed in some manner to the vehicle, various types of retaining and locking devices for bed extenders are known in the art. However, they are generally complex in their design, construction, and use. The most common forms of conventional bed extender locking devices employ spring-loaded plungers mechanisms. To deal with the internal stresses of the spring, the plunger locking devices must be made of substantially strong materials and also require a number of machining processes to produce the internal surfaces necessary to retain the spring and plunger within its housing. The complex structure of the plunger locking devices further causes them to be prone to jamming and corrosion in the environment to which the bed extender is exposed.
Additionally, when spring loaded plunger type locking devices are employed to retain conventional bed extenders in a cargo bed, their spring biasing to the locked and extended position requires that the locking devices be simultaneously actuated before the bed extender can be either released or locked in place. This makes it very difficult for a single individual to operate these locking mechanisms so that the bed extender can be moved from one position to the other. In other words, the conventional spring loaded locking devices require that more than one person be available to simultaneously actuate the separate locking devices that are typically installed on opposite sides of the bed extender. Furthermore, if a conventional locking device is adapted so that it may be actuated and temporarily latched into an unlocked position to overcome this limitation, the adaptation adds further complexity and cost to the device.
Simply stated, the conventional approaches to locking and retaining devices as employed in conventional type bed extenders are complex, expensive, and difficult to use. Moreover, an attempt to employ conventional locking and retaining devices with the pivotal style bed extenders often fail to provide the desired result of a simplified, quickly changeable bed extender designed with the current consumer demands in mind.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for a cargo bed extender having a locking mechanism that can be used in either a crossover vehicle cargo bed or in a standard pick-up cargo bed where space to stow the extender is limited. There also remains a need in the related art for a bed extender that includes a locking mechanism that is simple in design, cost effective in materials and construction, easy to use, and latchable in the open and closed positions so that the bed extender may be moved between its operative positions by a single individual. Furthermore, there remains a need in the art for a bed extender that includes an improved locking and retaining device that is simple, cost effective, and latchable in the open and closed positions as well.